The Bangladeshi Worker and His Compatriot Conman

The world of the Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia is a mystery to most Malaysians. Of course, we see and interact with them regularly but, from my observation, not many try to get to know them.  There are a few of these Bangladeshis living in my complex: their living arrangement is a story in itself but that is for a different time.  I became friends with a few of them. They have proven to be interesting friends, useful ones too because I often need someone to do things for me or the organization that I was with, and they are always interested in making money. Two of them, I found, are particularly hardworking. One of them is Syuib. This not actually his real name which is somewhat longer and harder to remember, so, someone called him Syuib and it stuck.  he's a young man in his mid to late twenties. He has been in Malaysia for a few years and in that time, I noticed that he would do any extra work that he could get his hands on. My neighborhood committee members sometimes speculated as to how much money Syuib had set aside.  

A few days ago, I came back from a shopping trip with my family to find a few of the Bangladeshis and my friends having a rather animated discussion in the gathering area of my complex. Being curious, I said hello and asked what was happening. Apparently, someone had conned Syuib and Rahman, another one of the Bangladeshis. 

Apparently, a couple of days earlier, a compatriot and friend of theirs came to stay for a few days, In the course of the stay, the friend had convinced Syuib that he could arrange to bring someone to Malaysia and get him (or her) a Malaysian passport. The complete package would cost RM18,000. Syuib apparently want to bring his brother to Malaysia to work and he became interested in the offer. He handed the rm18,000 to this friend. This friend took the money then left to go back to his place. He promptly disappeared. They found out that he had also gotten RM1000 out of Rahman for some undisclosed reason.  

After days of failing to contact the man, they (Syuib and Rahman) started calling their other friends to see if they knew where the guy was. Apparently, he had disappeared. However, they discovered that the conman-friend had also gotten money from several of their other friends who were also looking for him. This included a Thai woman: he had agreed to sell car for her it seems. The car was sold, but the money did not make its way to her. How he was able to successfully sell the car with all its paperwork to be done, I do not know but sold the car he did. In the course of their inquiries, they discovered that this man had conned a total amount of RM 50,000 from the people they know. They speculated that the total amount from people they did know would significantly add to that number. They also learnt that he had also conned a few of the lesser desirables among them who are also looking for him. These individuals asked them why they were looking for the man. When they told them what had happened, these men said that when they get their hands on the guy, they said they would (translated to me) "kasi potong same dia". Syuib and Rahman thought that it is probably best that they not call these guys again.  

In the course of the conversation, they also asked if one of my neighbours who is a police officer could help them. We learnt that there was probably nothing that she (the neighbour is a female officer) could do for them because they only had his name which was probably fake, and no photos or any documentation of any kind.  Syuib appears to be sad but he was back to his normal self the next day. He was even singing to himself as he washed cars this morning.  

I thought that was where the story ended but I was wrong.  Last night, when I drove into the complex, there was again another animated discussion going on. It seems that earlier that evening, Syuib had called the guy's handphone and he answered. Syuib did not elaborate on the whole conversation. He did ask the guy about his money and told him that they knew about his other escapades. The man's answer was, "God had given me the money, so I took it". Then he hung up.  

The number that Syuib called was a local cellphone number, most probably a prepaid one. This means that the man is still in the country. I think he is still in the Klang valley because this is where his prey is. Listening to them talk about the friends they had contacted, I surmised that they have most of Kuala Lumpur covered. This probably means that sooner or later, they will find this guy. It only depends on how long his greed makes him stay.  We can only hope that he is found by guys like Syuib and Rahman who only want their money back and not those guys on the phone who sounded a lot more interested in "potong"-ing him.  I hope they remember that dead people cannot return the money they owe.  

I'm just glad that I only heard them talk which means that it is all hearsay for me. So, if something does happen, there would be no reason for the authorities to call me in for questioning because everything i know would be inadmissible in the trial. 

By: Hazidi Abdul Hamid 

24 October 2017Note: potong means to cut. In this case it means to cut him up.